kaz3g

Being to lazy to search for a more reliable source I’ll use Wikipedia..?

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_to_liquids

 

 

 

 

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Essentially the same process as coal liquefaction. Both rely on the production and catalytic conversion of methane in a hydrogen rich environment. We have all this coal sitting here that no-one apparently wants and it’s only cost of processing that stops us building large scale plants like the Germans did in WWII.

 

Methane hydrate doesn’t offer anything over coal as a source of liquid fuels unless you are a net importer of coal, like China.

Being to lazy to search for a more reliable source I’ll use Wikipedia..?

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_to_liquids[/url

 

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Essentially the same process as coal liquefaction. Both rely on the production and catalytic conversion of methane in a hydrogen rich environment. We have all this coal sitting here that no-one apparently wants and it’s only cost of processing that stops us building large scale plants like the Germans did in WWII.

Methane hydrate doesn’t offer anything over coal as a source of liquid fuels unless you are a net importer of coal, like China.

I did not say you can run an aircraft on methane. .....well, yer can, though the problems are as pointed out..?

 

 

Take note the Germans in WW2 ran aircraft on coal....... processed coal.

 

 

My thread starter comment again:

 

“...Methane hydrate is basically an unlimited source of material that can be converted into aircraft fuel...”

 

 

 

 

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How?

Converting CH4 to a liquid is easy enough. Even my high-school chemistry can see the similarity between CH4 and CH3OH. Now CH3OH is methyl alcohol, which we used to run our model plane engines on. You can also get drunk on the stuff, but it has poisonous metabolites so this is not recommended.

I really like the smell of model plane fuel though, it reminds me of my youth.

Methyl alcohol is commonly known as Wood alcohol and is very poisonous And tastes awful. It’s added to ethanol at about 5% v/v to “methylate” the spirits to deter people drinking it In a process known as denaturing.

i used ether and castor oil in my model aero engines but they were diesel type. It wasn’t only the aeroplane that got high.

kaz

But when Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos was asked about it at a press conference, she said driving lessons were not essential.

 

"There are only four good reasons to leave home and that doesn't include taking your child on a driver learning experience," she said.

 

"Unless you're driving to the supermarket with them to pick up your weekly groceries, you should be staying at home.

With respect to the Minister, there are more than 4 reasons as can be seen at

https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/202003/Stay%20at%20Home%20Directions%20.pdf

Unfortunately , there is no provision for maintaining property (hangars) and chattels subject to Deterioration (aircraft) Unless it is an emergency.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-04/monash-researchers-hopes-for-coronavirus-drug-treatment-warning/12121578

A flying friend told me about his neighbour who say if he gets it he'll just dose himself with cattle drench.

I'm guessing that there a lots of chemicals that will kill corona in a petrie dish.

A lot of drenches contain chemicals in doses that will kill humans, too.

Big difference between a ruminant gut and yours.

Once China works out how to run their power stations on the stuff - Oz coal is stuffed.

 

Japan is the big buyer of Australian power coal though they also have a methane hydrate project going.

 

No more coal money to Oz..........

 

 

 

 

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Sooner or later they will want to drill for it under Antarctica.

I "love" the term "Natural' GAS. Like as if being natural it's doing no harm.. What's natural about it? Nev

That’s how it comes. Doesn’t need to be “made” like avgas.

Largely consists of methane with small quantities of the heavier hydrocarbons mixed in. Usually pumped in its gaseous form because of energy costs of liquefaction processes. Highly flammable with combustion in air producing primarily CO2 and H2O but may also produce SOXs and NOXs as pollutants depending on nitrogen and sulphuric content (similar to dirtier coals). Propane’s, butanes and even pentanes are more stable, less volatile (but can still go bang).

Looks like all aircraft fuels will be getting very cheap in the next few years.

 

Methane hydrate is basically an unlimited source of material that can be converted into aircraft fuel.

 

Also, most other fuel users will change to the cheaper gas product thus the remaining oil supply will be cheap.

 

 

“...China extracted 861,400 cubic meters of natural gas from methane hydrate, known as “flammable ice,” during a one-month trial production in the South China Sea, Chinese state media reported on Thursday.

 

The gas was allegedly extracted from a depth of about 1,225 meters in an area in the north of the highly contested body of water. The South China Sea is believed to contain some of the world’s most promising deposits of methane hydrate, and China has identified the “combustible ice” as a potential new gas source...”

 

https://www.breitbart.com/asia/2020/03/27/china-boasts-world-record-gas-extraction-south-china-sea/

 

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The most dangerous energy game of all.

https://www.forbes.com/2008/08/29/energy-methane-hydrates-biz-energy-cx_wp_0902gashydrates.html

Methane CH4 is the simplest hydrocarbon. It doesn’t form dipoles under pressure easily and to keep it a liquid at room temperature requires a tank that can maintain a pressure of about 32,000 kPa. That’s a tad more than your average aircraft fuel tank can manage. Low temperature are therefore necessary but you expend a lot of energy getting there

The heavier “methane” hydrocarbons such as propane and butane are relatively easy to liquefy and store As evidenced by your bbq bottle. Their molecular structure isn’t symmetrical and the establishment of dipoles under pressure is that much easier.

Obviously, the hydrate form itself cannot be used in aircraft because (1) the methane content is only around 30% of the mass of the ice and the amount of energy therefore available in that form is very small; (2) its not stable once released from the pressure/temperature of its source environment; and (3) there are significant safety issues associated with carrying liquefied methane in an aircraft...mix it with air in the right proportions and apply a match!

The tanker depicted, if it is carrying methane, is essentially a huge liquefaction vessel with extracted methane under pressure and at at very low temperature.

And ABC report described the Jacobs Well aircraft as a “privately owned recreational aircraft”. At least it’s apparently not a Cessna.

Oh thats a shame...?

 

 

Meanwhile, this virus thingy has been very handy to the Communist rulers of Hong Kong...

 

Coronavirus: police arrest 54 at Hong Kong Prince Edward protest,

• Lawyers accuse officers of abusing the public health crisis by having the metal strips removed from detained demonstrators’ surgical masks
  
• 
   
  
• Meanwhile, restaurateurs say the force is using new anti-epidemic rules for political purposes
  
• 
  

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3078006/coronavirus-police-arrest-54-hong-kong-prince-edward

 

 

 

 

 

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Try this fb account

Can’t tell you the name or I’d have to......no, no, it was a clip on Messenger and it now won’t open again. Sorry.

Looks like they have trouble actually identifying Coronavirus at times...?

 

From back in 2003...

 

“...an outbreak of respiratory illness due to HCoV-OC43. The observed attack rate of 67% and case fatality rate of 8% underscore the pathogenic potential of HCoVs in frail populations. This adds to other observations underscoring that CoVs other than SARS-CoV may be responsible for a broader spectrum of disease than coryza alone...”

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2095096/

 

 

 

 

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Hope you are ok?

Lots of misinformation flying everywhere. just had an episode of a TV series sent to me in which the Chinese supposedly created a Coronavirus weapon with 90% mortality to take over the world. The sender was adamant this was Covid-19. The psychology of fear.

“You may not like the wealthy people, but they are the ones paying for most of the stuff that most people get from their government. If that goes away who's going to pay for your healthcare and pension then?

I have no prejudice against wealthy people, but I question your statement that they are paying for most of the stuff people get from government. There is a huge difference between comparing the income tax rates of wage and salary earners where the highest paid 2% pay the largest Amount in income tax, and the taxes paid by owners of large mining corporations (for example) who have access to an enormous array of minimisation measures most of us can’t even comprehend.

[ATTACH type=full]51901[/ATTACH]

Beautiful little aeroplane, highly aerobatic, NFG as a fighter against mono planes. The last biplane fighters in RAF service were the Gloster Gauntlets which fought amazing battles in Denmark. Highly manoeuvrable but 250 mph was their limit.

Two .303 didn’t cut it, either.

Do you believe this report?[ATTACH type=full]51893[/ATTACH]

That was the first band only time they escaped being slaughtered. The Me 109’s thought they were Spitfires and attacked from above. Defiant had quadruple machine guns pointing to rear.

After Me109’s realised what they had, they attacked from below and killed may good men because of Air Ministry intransigence.

Wasn't this one was it?

 

[ATTACH]51889[/ATTACH]

That’s an Auster

Austers had such a bad reputation that when I got to fly one it only had to fly at all and it would have exceeded its reputation. Learning on first a chippie and then a Tiger it was an easy transition. I was warned about it's ability to nearly kill you when it bounced on take off. Must be SOME BS or mistake there, I thought. WRONG.. Eventually the Bungee U/C made it's presence felt and I got used to the idea of either abandoning some rough ground take-off s or reefing it tail down into the air flying slow in ground effect for a while. Once you get used to the slow speed capability you can just about put it down on a tennis court. Last time I checked all the ones I flew in the 60's were still going.. Most tailwheels then were 3 pointed, especially at Newcastle Aerodrome at District Park which was very small. Nev,

I hardly ever do a wheeler because you lose the very attribute that gave it purpose..STOL. Three points with the barn doors open and you can land it almost anywhere..and I have. But in 750 hours I haven’t ground-looped YET.

A mate from Wedderburn became proud owner of an Aeronca Champ. We'd met at Holbrook a number of times and so we met up again at an SAAA Easter fly-in at Mangalore. I had my VP-2 there, some doubted that it could fly 2 people on the Revmaster but it did.

Anyway, my mate was really proud of his little Champ and generously offered to take me for a fly. We climbed aboard and except for the lack of leg room it was a nice little thing. It had a C-65 which was hand-propped to start. We took off and enjoyed a leisurely climb to about 2,000ft above ground. He handed over to me and I flew around for a bit.

"See how she stalls" he said. I protested but he insisted that I should marvel further at her 'pussy-cat' nature. I pulled the revs back and eased back on the stick until it shuddered and dropped its nose, simultaneously with the prop coming to a standstill!

Surprised we looked at each other. I then suggested that the correct course of action would be to put the nose down and attempt to air start it but, to my surprise he insisted on dead sticking it to a landing before many shocked spectators. Things that happen I guess!

Wasn’t a cherry red one, was it? Mate had one at Coldstream YCEM and it was a delight to hand prop.

I've flown an Auster only a few times, in a nut shell? Horrible thing, people are welcome to them!

You didn’t give it enough time. They do grow on you, especially when you learn to fly them properly.

With a full lockdown, in an instant you are telling Australians not to venture outside their doors, wait for food to be delivered, and we didn'y have the capacity to deliver to 25 million people. People would have just gone out and bought their food.

The staggered approach was like herding cats, but all but a few percent are in a much safer place than if we'd gone cold turkey.

The staggered approach kept kids in school during the time when the virus was fanning out from overseas visitors, and allowed, I think about 300,000 of the workforce to be temporarily re-employed to help with servicing the large group of people now in the homes.

Someone will eventually write a book about this crisis and we'll all know how soon they started working on it, but my guess is December/January for how they were going to manage it. Don't forget it was always the Chief Medical Officers deciding the strategy and calling the shots.

 

https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/state-of-emergency-declared-in-victoria-over-covid-19/

My young fellow and family are in Singapore. Foreign Correspondent has been looking at how Singapore managed it so well without a massive shutdown. Planned early, had adequate PPE and medical supplies on hand and people have high confidence in Government. Testing, testing, testing.

https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/202003/Stay%20at%20Home%20Directions%20

Another magnificent day in paradise (SHEPP) and sitting on the ground looking at the sky.

Autumn is a brilliant time for flying here and it’s flowing off the calendar at a very disconcerting rate.

The Chinese trainees from Mangalore YMNG are still active with touch and go’s, and the twins are droning around the NDM, but nothing local at all.

I think the dual approach is fine, I just wish they had listened and acted sooner. Commentators like Bolt and Jones are positively dangerous IMHO.

I guess if you are travelling for one of the valid reasons, and only with family in the vehicle, you are ok, but it’s not terribly clear and reports suggest open to interpretation by police.

If I fly from SHEPP airport to Wahring, for example and then walk around the boundary of this ALA for exercise, and do not approach another person, I’d suggest I’m complying with the letter of the restrictions, but not the spirit.

Furthest I’ve been is to the lake around the corner for a quick walk with the dog.

I feel terribly sorry for the flying schools which are deserted here.

My first flight in the Auster was on 7 January 2009. I had just 2 hours Auster flying before that but the propellor turned in the opposite direction.

I purchased I from a guy at Watts Bridge and my fist takeoff was when I departed to south. First landing 2 hours later.

Fortunately, I had with me a little Garmin 295 (still have it) because towering Cu’s to 30,000 made for a very bumpy trip An there was no way known I could follow the line on the map without then recovering from unusual attitudes. I made it to Narromine but the bloody thing wouldn’t land! Floated and floated until..bang...we were on the ground two thirds way down one of those incredibly long runways. So help me, it wanted to go up, not down.

Next morning, squeaked into Temora in front of a huge TS after I got confused and called the wrong runway direction in my rush to get onto terra firma. Guys there helped me tie down. Headed off again when rain stopped and ended up sideways down the runway because there were two or three inches of water on it. Pulled the stick back and up she went...phew! Good old bird answered my wishes ?‍♂️

Got safely back to Locksley (Vic) near Mangalore without further drama and decided the little aeroplane was a very strong little thing and would look after me weep if I looked after her. 750 hours later, I’m starting to learn how to fly and land her.

Kaz